KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** what contract for video guard service and surveillance rental May 21, 2026 *********************** what contract for video guard service and surveillance rental *********************** Ken, We're proposing a video surveillance system in conjunction with virtual guard service and not sure which agreement applies. Here are some relevant information. In addition to the correct contract is there anything else we should be careful about? I want to make sure we evaluate as much of the risk as possible before proceeding. We will have equipment and labor cost; We’re in California and so is the customer. We have monthly recurring cost, consisting of LTE cell service and our 3rd party monitoring virtual guard service, for both units so there is cost per month. `We're proposing a rental agreement that includes an install, deployment, activation fee. And RMR for rental/lease, cell service, virtual guard service, monitoring dispatch as necessary, and normal wear and tear service and we retain ownership of the equipment. I don’t know if the items below are relevant, but I did ask Mitch Reitman for his input as well. 1 - Do we pay Use Tax ourselves and not charge any sales tax to the customer? I need to research this. I believe that the customer will be the end user. I will have an answer for you tomorrow. 2 - Do we charge sales tax on the cost of the unit? 3 - Do we charge sales tax on a hypothetical margined price? 4 - Do we charge any sales tax on the total monthly? 5- Do we charge sales tax on a portion of the monthly? 6 - Do we charge sales tax on a combination of the sale price. in addition to sales tax on the monthly recurring invoice or a portion of. 7 - Do we charge based on some other standard? Lastly, I don’t know if I’m following proper Concierge Client protocol by email you and your staff like this. Let me know who I should be sending these questions to and who needs to be copied. Please omit all of the dollar amounts if you decide to share this on your daily email blast. Thank you, Andy **************************** Response *************************** Let's start with final question and work backwards. Concierge Clients, like you, should call or send email questions directly to me; you can copy the Concierge ProgramCoordinator Stacy Spector, Esq., and she will make sure I see and respond to the inquiry. Concierge Clients will get a personal response to their inquiry. All other alarm clients are welcome, and encouraged, to send an email to me with an inquiry, comment on an article or introduce a new topic, but that inquiry will usually be responded to on the forum. You have already asked Mitch Reitman your tax questions and that would have been my recommendation. Mitch handles the tax and accounting; I handle everything else. [seems like the only real and competent competition I have on the law side is Bart Didden, and I don't think he charges for his legal services]. You are not renting your equipment and services, you are leasing the equipment and providing on-going services during the lease term. While the two structures, rental v lease, are similar, they do have distinctions. There is no reason to get into those distinctions here, because the bottom line is you will be leasing and the appropriate agreement in this scenario is the Commercial All in One Lease. You will describe your services and pricing in the Schedule of Equipment and Services [which might be your proposal]. Also use the Disclaimer Notice when you get the lease signed. ********************************* STANDARD FORMS Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements. click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our Email List / Email Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. You can read articles and order alarm contracts on our web site www.alarmcontracts.com ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
